Nate Schimdt

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman and former Capital Nate Schmidt guest-starred on the February 14 episode of 31 Thoughts with Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman. While the conversation covered many topics, the most entertaining was a throwback to the year 2013.

Schmidt scored his first career NHL goal against the Nashville Predators on December 7, 2013. After the puck hit the back of the net, John Carlson hugged Schmidt. The two were defensive partners at the time, and Carlson skated up the ice, beating all the forwards in the footrace. Instead of breaking his momentum, he slammed into Schmidty, who then slammed into the boards.

Schmidt said it was like getting hit by a linebacker and nearly knocked him into the stands.

“I really felt I was going to eat popcorn with the people in the third row,” Schmidt said.

On March 14, Nate Schmidt scored a goal against his hometown Minnesota Wild. His 12 plus minutes of ice time would be all the shifty defenseman would see for the next three weeks, bumped from the Washington Capitals lineup for the newly acquired Kevin Shattenkirk. At the end of the regular season, Schmidt was able to dress for four games, picking up two points in place of the injured John Carlson. But for the playoffs, Schmidt was to be benched.

The 25-year-old always wears a smile on his face, but when I talked to him before Game One of Washington’s first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs he admitted being a health scratch tired him mentally.

“You have to prepare like you’re playing every night,” Schmidt said. “It’s tough.”

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